28/12/2023
Emily Chudy writes for LGBTQIA newswire Pink News to say that anti-trans activists such as the increasingly sour JK Rowling have no right to pit the lesbian and transgender communities against each other, and notes how both groups have a mutual solidarity that straight feminists will never understand. She says "JK Rowling’s 2020 essay in which she claimed some gay people are transitioning in order to escape homophobic bullying. I then saw baseless claims that trans women are pressuring lesbians into having sex with them, followed by anti-trans groups like The Lesbian Project claiming trans women are “erasing” lesbians, and even anti-trans activists attacking the queer dating app HER for welcoming trans and non-binary users. Many of these anti-trans talking points follow the same narrative, that trans women pose a threat to lesbians, or “erase” lesbians’ identity just by being themselves. But this couldn’t be further from the truth of the LGBTQ+ community. According to an August YouGov poll, cisgender lesbians have an overwhelmingly positive view of trans people, with 84 per cent of cis lesbians holding a positive view of trans people, compared to just 39 per cent of all British people. According to LGBTQ+ youth charity Just Like Us, lesbians are also the most likely of the whole LGBTQ+ community to say they know a trans person (92 per cent)."
